Pinocchio at a glance

Show
Pinocchio
Venue
Shakespeare's Globe (open-air)
Address
21 New Globe Walk, London SE1 9DT
Nearest station
London Bridge (10 min riverside walk); Mansion House (10 min walk)
Genre
Musical (family)
Running time
Approximately 2 hours, including one interval (based on 2025 run)
Age guidance
5+ (under-16s must be accompanied by an adult)
Dates
28 November 2026 – 3 January 2027
Price range
From £5 (standing yard) up to £78 (gallery seating)
Book & lyrics
Charlie Josephine
Music & lyrics
Jim Fortune
Director
Sean Holmes

Expert Review: Pinocchio at Shakespeare's Globe

4.6
★★★★★

LTH Expert Rating

Reviewed by the London Theatre Hub editorial team. Last updated: 8 May 2026. Based on the 2025 Shakespeare's Globe production. The 2026 return features the same creative team; cast to be announced.

The Verdict

Carlo Collodi's Pinocchio — the original, 1883 Italian novel — is not the cosy Disney story most audiences carry in their heads. It is darker, stranger, more episodic, and considerably more melancholy: a tale about a puppet whose desire to be human leads him through a succession of misfortunes that feel almost biblical in their repetition. Charlie Josephine and Jim Fortune's new musical, directed by Globe Associate Artistic Director Sean Holmes, takes Collodi's original seriously — returning the story to its roots rather than softening it into something easier — while remaining genuinely joyful and genuinely funny. The result is a production that earns its five-star reviews, and earns them at every level: for children, for adults, for theatregoers who have never seen anything at the Globe, and for regulars who know exactly why seeing a show under open skies in an Elizabethan theatre-in-the-round is unlike anything else London offers.

The production's particular achievement is its puppetry. Pinocchio himself is handled by multiple performers simultaneously — voiced, moved, and inhabited with a skill that makes the character feel genuinely alive rather than illustratively represented. The theatre critic who reviewed the 2025 run for LondonTheatre.co.uk noted that "there's something about seeing our most famous wooden character being brought to life in this oak-filled arena that just feels right." That instinct is correct: the Globe's open-air wooden O, built in the style of Elizabethan theatres, gives a story about a puppet made of wood an almost uncanny appropriateness. The setting is the design.

Sean Holmes's direction is confident and warm, with Grace Smart's colourful toy-theatre-esque set filling the stage with the kind of organised charm that works perfectly in the round. Jim Fortune's score contains some memorable numbers — particularly a deliciously dark second-act sequence involving Jiminy Cricket as a sinister coachman luring children to Toyland — though the music overall is better integrated into the storytelling than it is individually distinguished. The show runs two hours with interval, which is the right length: long enough to feel substantial, short enough to hold the attention of the youngest audience members.

What Makes It Special

  • Shakespeare's Globe as the perfect venue. Pinocchio is a story about a wooden puppet in a wooden theatre. The open-air setting gives the production an atmospheric charge that no indoor venue could match — particularly in winter, with cold air and the Thames nearby and the sense of something genuinely ancient happening. Standing in the yard as a groundling costs £5 and is one of the most distinctive theatrical experiences in London.
  • A genuine return to Collodi's original. Charlie Josephine's adaptation avoids the Disney version's sentimentality and sanitisation. This is a Pinocchio who makes real mistakes with real consequences, and the play's emotional arc is earned rather than assumed. The darker elements — Toyland, the Fox, the consequences of lying — are present and treated with appropriate gravity without losing the show's fundamental warmth.
  • Five stars from three publications on the 2025 run. WhatsOnStage, Sunday Mirror, and Broadway World all gave five stars. The Guardian, Independent, Telegraph, and Reviews Hub all gave four. This is an exceptional critical reception for a new family musical, and the decision to bring it back for 2026 reflects both the critical response and the audience demand that followed.
  • Extraordinary value. Tickets from £5 for standing yard positions make this one of the most accessible five-star theatrical experiences in London. Gallery seats with the full covered experience are available from a modest premium. For a family of four, this is significantly less expensive than most comparable West End family shows.
  • Charlie Josephine and Jim Fortune as a creative team. Josephine's previous Globe work — I, Joan — demonstrated exactly the playful, defiant energy that Pinocchio requires. Fortune's previous credits include Mr Gum and the Dancing Bear at the National Theatre, another successful adaptation of a beloved children's story. Their collaboration here has produced something that feels genuinely new rather than derivative.

You'll love Pinocchio if you...

  • Are looking for a genuinely outstanding family show for the festive season — five stars across multiple publications is rare
  • Want the unique experience of Shakespeare's Globe in winter — cold, atmospheric, and entirely unlike indoor theatre
  • Are interested in Collodi's original rather than the Disney version — this is a more complex, more interesting telling
  • Are on a budget — £5 standing tickets make this one of the most affordable premium theatre experiences in London
  • Are bringing children aged 5 to 12 who are old enough to follow the story and young enough to be genuinely enchanted

It might not be for you if you...

  • Find outdoor theatre in winter uncomfortable — the yard (standing area) is open to the sky and will be cold in November and December
  • Are bringing very young children under 5 — the recommended age of 5+ is a genuine guide, not a formality
  • Are expecting the Disney Pinocchio — this production deliberately returns to Collodi's darker original and will surprise those expecting the film
  • Want a confirmed cast list before booking — the 2026 cast had not been announced at time of writing

Best for

  • Families (5+)
  • Festive treat
  • Globe regulars
  • Budget theatregoers
  • School groups
  • First-time Globe visitors

Not ideal for very young children under 5 or those who find outdoor winter theatre uncomfortable.

Critical Reception

Pinocchio received an exceptional critical reception during its 2025 debut at Shakespeare's Globe, with five stars from three major publications and four stars from the majority of others. The critical consensus praised the production's handling of Collodi's original material, the puppetry, the Globe setting, and the balance of comedy and genuine emotional weight. Verified ratings from the 2025 run:

  • WhatsOnStage ★★★★★
  • Sunday Mirror ★★★★★
  • Broadway World ★★★★★
  • The Daily Telegraph ★★★★
  • The Guardian ★★★★
  • The Independent ★★★★
  • The Reviews Hub ★★★★

Source: published reviews of the Shakespeare's Globe production, November–December 2025. The same creative team returns for the 2026 season; cast to be confirmed.

Everything You Need to Know

What happens in Pinocchio?

The production centres on Geppetto — reimagined here as a restless maverick rather than the gentle old craftsman of the Disney film. Geppetto is a man of great imagination who longs for connection and purpose. One night he carves a puppet from a block of wood. Much to his own surprise, the puppet comes to life.

Setting out

Pinocchio — curious, impulsive, and entirely ignorant of how the world works — immediately gets into trouble. He is easily deceived by the Fox and the Cat (two wonderfully villainous characters in Collodi's original), who divert him from his education and his responsibilities. He lies, and his nose grows. He makes promises he cannot keep. He is credulous in the face of obviously untrustworthy strangers. He is, in other words, exactly like a child.

The adventures

The show follows Collodi's episodic structure, with Pinocchio encountering a succession of colourful and often threatening characters: Stromboli, the puppet-master who exploits him; Jiminy Cricket, who serves as his conscience; the Blue Fairy, who intervenes at key moments; and the sinister Coachman, who offers children a trip to Toyland — a nightmarish theme park where boys who play instead of study are transformed into donkeys. The show's second-act sequence involving the Coachman is one of its most celebrated moments, combining dark comedy with genuine unease in a way that takes Collodi's surreal original seriously.

The sea

The production culminates with one of Collodi's most famous episodes: the swallowing of Pinocchio and Geppetto by a great fish, and their rescue and reunion within its belly. This sequence, in the Globe's staging, becomes the emotional climax of the show — the moment where everything Pinocchio has been through is redeemed by the love between the puppet and his maker.

What makes Pinocchio human

The show's central question — what does it mean to be human, and is being human something Pinocchio actually wants? — gives the production its emotional weight beyond the adventure. Charlie Josephine's adaptation is honest about the cost of the transformation Pinocchio eventually undergoes, and the ending earns its feeling rather than simply assuming it.